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Monday, March 24, 2014

Divergent: The Movie VS The Book

Accepted Readers,I just got home from watching the Divergent movie in the theater, so I thought I would share my opinion. As a book nerd we all know the book is always better and in this case that truly applies. I enjoyed the movie but feel I would have enjoyed it more had I not read the book. I noticed quite a few things that were changed or missing all together, some quite important honestly. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read the book or seen the movie so I'll keep things brief. No worries. I would give the movie a 3 in a half to 4 stars; it would probably have gotten 5 stars had I not read the book. So yeah... I'm a bit disappointed.

Here's my break-down of what was missing that played a key importance in the book:

Peter's character was not shown to be as malicious and untrustworthy as he should have been. This was a big issue in the first book, the things he does reflect the outcome of how he and Tris get along later on.

The tension/disagreements between Tris and Four isn't shown AT ALL.

The thoughts that Tris has about herself and her doubts aren't really touched on like they should have been.

All of Tris's fears aren't portrayed in the last test.

Here's my break-down of what varied from the book:

Some of the characters didn't seem to match up to how they were portrayed in the book and weren't properly introduced in the movie, so I found myself trying to guess who was who.

The Dauntless compound while close doesn't quite fit the description it had in the book.

The "visiting day" ceremony isn't mentioned at all, so the scene between Tris and her mom and brother was done differently.

Overall, the movie got most of the key elements right. I just wish they didn't leave out some scenes. I think they picked the perfect actress for Tris and the perfect actor for Four. The action scenes were quite good and I think the ending was perfect.

See or Skip the movie?

I saw see it even if you haven't read the book. It's done in a way that even without reading the book that the whole concept is understandable and fascinating. If you have read the book just prepare to question a few scenes. Isn't that how it always goes though? When it hits dvd I will be purchasing it and I will likely re-watch it often.